Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter, a fan of the ‘always-online’ DRM, had the following to say:

“I think anything a publisher does to make sure you don’t rip off their games if their right, and I think that people who steal should be in jail. I welcome the flamer comments on this one; if you think that’s right good for you; we have no interest in your business since you don’t pay for stuff anyway.”

Just two days ago I posted about how I don’t have a problem with the ‘always-on’ format of Ubisoft’s DRM, being an MMO-player. However, I did concede that this is provided Ubisoft’s servers don’t screw up and provide me with the ability to play the game unhindered, as long as I am online.

Mr. Pachter seems to miss this point altogether.

A lot of angst over this form of DRM is due to the fact that a very large number of players were not able to access the content that they paid for. For example, Assassin’s Creed II players were not able to access/play the game because Ubisoft’s servers were down. I agree with taking steps (quite draconian in this case, but a necessary evil from a studio’s point of view) to prevent against digital theft. But if you can’t provide the service you promised while forcing players to be online, you deserve to lose business over it.

It’s the equivalent of buying a box-set at a game outlet, only to realize that you need to plaster the receipt to your forehead while playing it; and even then you can’t access a product you legally purchased, because the studio doesn’t have its act straight.

More than that, just because someone does not agree with this form of piracy, does not make them a pirate by default. because if that were the case, Frank Pearce, a Blizzard Entertainment employee, would be classified as a pirate as well. That categorical statement is more than a little unfounded and baseless.